Monday, 29 December 2008

Housing Scandal! 400,000 bids for 2700 homes

The council cannot house the over crowded, homeless, those fleeing domestic abuse, those who just want their own home and those who may become potentially homeless of Edinburgh. There has not been a council house built in Edinburgh for nearly three decades, the right to buy has drained the council stock and housing assosiations and co-ops just don't have the capacity. The council's policy of building affordable social housing by getting homes from developers just does not work and is developer driven, it is a folly policy. Developers build housing units not homes i.e. one and two bedroom flats - there is a derth of three, four and even five bedroom homes fit for families. Many families get stuck in accomodation that is overcrowded because there are not bigger homes particualrly when their families expand.

The Edinburgh Evening News reports read here that there were nearly 1/2 million bids were made for 2700 homes in Edinburgh, yet 9 council homes lie empty on the Canongate waiting to be re-developed by Mountgrange, some of the houses have been empty for nearly 2 years. The Independent Republic raised this back on 14th December - read here This is an outrage! Even if they could not be used as permanent homes they could be used for temporary accomodation.

The council agreed at the Planning Committee in February 2008 to build social housing through Places for Places on Calton Road, yet there is no movement, not a brick has been laid. The land is not owned by Mountgrange but by the council, so where is the housing? What is the problem? The council should not be restrained by the economic problems of the developers. If the council had not sold the land where the gap site is there would be a great space to build community resources and council housing. Now we might see a gap sit for decades.